Black Hole
by twilife
Summary: Due to some differences in Bella's past, she arrives in Forks depressed and broken with an abusive father. Will Edward get through to her before it's too late? Familiar scenes from Twilight gradually break away from the original story.
1. Chapter 1: The New Girl

**This is a story I wrote that was inspired by Twilight and other people's fan fiction. I don't think the idea is original. I've read lots of similar stories on this site, and I wanted to write my own version. The story is set in the first book. You can review it for potential readers, but personally I'm not looking for constructive criticism. **

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**Chapter 1: The New Girl**

POV: Edward.

I looked at the new girl, and I tried to tune out all the frivolous thoughts around her so I could hear hers. But when I listened, I heard nothing. Her mind couldn't be empty. She looked like she was deep in thought. But then I picked up something from Jasper's thoughts - Jasper was also looking at her with a pained expression. _She's sad. Really sad - possibly suicidal. She feels like she's worthless and unloved. I wonder what's going in her life._ I cringed at Jasper's thoughts. No one deserved to feel that way, especially not someone with such a gentle, innocent face. Jasper knew that I was staring at her, and he thought toward me. _Do you know what she's thinking, Edward?_ "I can't tell," I said under my breath. "I can't hear her."

Usually I was irritated by all the shallow thoughts around me, but for some reason, I couldn't take this silence from her. I wanted to talk to her - to find out what her life was like, why she was in pain. Did someone hurt her? No, who would, why would they ever...? After a while I noticed she hadn't been talking to the people around her. I was so absorbed trying to hear her that I missed the fact that she wasn't saying anything to anyone. She seemed to inconspicuously disconnect herself from the people around her. It was as if she was invisible to everyone but me. And Jasper, who was plagued by her pain. A few people wondered about her because she was the new girl in town. But their thoughts drifted, and their wordless stares, unnoticed by the girl, wandered elsewhere. She seemed to blend in too well, while not fitting in at all. No one had asked her name.

POV: Bella.

The new school wasn't that different from the old school, but I liked it better. There was nothing to remind me of my painful past. No one knew me. No one knew what had happened, and no one could torment me over it. No one hated me here, at least not yet. Except, well... maybe I was imagining things, but the boy who sat next to me in biology seemed to be repulsed by my presence. I didn't know what his problem was. I figured my best bet would be to ignore everyone, though. Eventually someone would notice my weakness and take advantage, but until then, I felt relatively safe at school.

Things weren't so great at home. My mom had recently died, and I was sent to Forks to live with my dad. I hadn't seen him since my mom left from an abusive relationship when I was five. No one knew about it except me and my mom. I don't know why she didn't tell anyone. I guess she didn't want to hurt him or his reputation as the chief of police. Me and my mom just left, and we went to live in Phoenix. At my old school, people always beat me up, and I got so depressed that my friends stopped talking to me. My mom was always supportive, but she didn't do anything about it. When she got sick, I couldn't burden her with my problems, so I just kept to myself. My depression got a lot worse. When my mom died I had no place to go, so they sent me here to live with my dad. I was glad to get away from my old school, but scared to move in with the man who had abused my mom. Living with Charlie was as bad as I had anticipated. He was mad at me and my mom for leaving, and now that I was back in his life, he took out all of his anger on me.

I moved during the summer, and when school started, I was glad to get out of the house in the morning. Charlie was unpredictable. Sometimes he would blow up at me for nothing, but whenever he had ghost of a reason to get angry at me he would take full advantage of it. School was predictable. I would ignore everyone, and everyone would ignore me, and I could handle that. I went to biology the second day, expecting to be shunned by that boy again. I didn't really care, as long as he wasn't physically attacking me. I sat down next to him, and stared down at my notes, not even looking up. Still I could tell he was staring at me.

"Hello," he said. I was surprised. Was he talking to me? I was the one he was staring at, but... I looked up at him. He was indeed looking at me. His beautiful eyes were mesmerizing. I noticed they were a different color than I remembered them - topaz. When I looked at him his expression changed, and I could see the pain in my own eyes mirrored in his. I looked away. He certainly was an attractive boy. Why would he want to talk to _me?_ No one else had bothered to. He shouldn't waste his breath. He continued to speak. "My name is Edward Cullen. I didn't have a chance to introduce myself the other day. May I ask your name?"

I didn't know what he wanted, but it was probably best just to answer. "Bella," I said.

"That's a nice name," he said.

"Get started," said Mr. Banner. We were doing a lab on identifying cell phases.

"Ladies first partner?" he offered. Why was he being so polite? Was this some kind of trick? Did he remember how he's reacted to me the first day?

Edward and I finished the lab before everyone else. "It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" he asked.

"Not really."

"You don't like the cold?" he guessed.

"Or the wet," I added.

"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live."

"I guess," I said. He had no idea.

"Why did you come here, then?"

I didn't want to get into that. He was just trying to weasel out information so he could throw it in my face later, no doubt. I wasn't going to give him the ammo. "It's complicated," I said. Hopefully he would stop there.

"I think I can keep up," he said. I looked up at him. His eyes were so genuine. Did he really want to know about me, just for the sake of knowing? I would just keep it simple.

"My mom died of cancer. I moved here to live with my dad."

Edward looked concerned. "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," he said.

"It's okay. It doesn't matter." I had said too much. I figured it best to leave before he opened me up further. I closed my books and started packing them into my bag. The thought of my mom made my eyes moisten. I didn't look up at him as I left.

When I was leaving school I saw him again in the parking lot, standing with his clique. What was it about Edward? He was unpredictable, but I wasn't scared of him like I was scared of Charlie. He hadn't done anything to hurt me. Yet. I stood next to my truck and looked at him from across the parking lot. He had a sudden look of horror on his face as he stared at me. I turned to the sound of screeching tires, and a van skidding across the icy parking lot at road speed, right toward me.


	2. Chapter 2: Bruised

**Chapter 2: Bruised**

POV: Bella.

The next few seconds were a blur, but somehow I didn't die. I was a bit disappointed. That would have been an easy way out of this joke of a life. Edward had somehow come toward me with inhuman speed and stopped the van from crushing me with his hand. I was scared when the paramedics showed up. Would they make me to to the hospital? Would they ask about all my scars and bruises that obviously didn't come from this little accident? Edward was speaking to them. "I'm afraid Bella here might have a concussion. She hit her head pretty hard." Oh, why did he have to tell them? I'd been beaten down a lot worse than this and just left to fend for myself. I was sure I could walk away from this. I didn't even notice the pain in my head with Edward grabbing my bruised body. It wasn't too bad though - his arms were like ice, and soothed the pain just as quickly as they had triggered it. And he had done everything in such a graceful fluid motion, despite the inhuman speed in which he had to move me.

"So, Miss, Swan, how are you feeling?" asked the doctor.

"I'm fine," I lied.

"Your X-rays look good. Does your head hurt?"

"No." It was the truth. My head was fine.

"What happened to your arms?"

I looked down. I was wearing a hospital gown and my bruised arms were fully exposed. _Crap,_ I thought. The doctor looked curious, but not too concerned. "I fall down a lot. I'm such a klutz sometimes," I said.

"Well, you be careful," he said.

Edward came and stood in the doorway. "Can I talk to her?" he asked. The doctor left the room.

"Bella, what happened?" asked Edward.

"You tell me," I retorted. Then I looked at him and saw that his intense eyes were focused on my bruises. I pretended I didn't notice, hoping he would explain the crash incident.

"Your arms," he pointed.

"I'm accident prone," I said. "If you know what's good for you you'll stay away from me." I was serious, but not for the reasons I implied. Edward smiled a little. "Except you seem to be indestructible," I observed, thinking back to the crash incident.

"Maybe you just have really bad luck," he suggested, ignoring my last comment. "Always at the wrong place at the wrong time." Edward was right, in a way. I did have bad luck. Worse than he knew. My life was a living hell. But at this very moment it seemed almost bearable.

"Bella," Edward looked serious. "I remember what you said in biology, about you mom dying. I'm sorry if you didn't want me to bring it up - I wasn't prepared to talk about it then, but, if you ever do, want to talk about it..." Edward was stuttering awkwardly as he spoke. I'm sure he didn't really want hear about my horrible life. I shook my head before he finished. He looked intently into my eyes. "Bella," he spoke more firmly. "If you ever do, you can tell me, okay?"

"Okay," I said. He sounded convincing this time. I almost felt as if I could trust him, that he wouldn't abandon me as soon as he found out that I was a black hole and he was getting in too deep. But I couldn't inflict my pain on anyone - they didn't deserve to share it.

The doctor came back in. "Bella, your dad is here to take you home. You're free to leave," he said with a smile. I stiffened. My dad was the last person I ever wanted to see. But I had to go with him - I had no choice.

Edward sensed my discomfort. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine," I said. I went to change my clothes, not knowing how Charlie would react to this whole incident, but dreading it nonetheless. Maybe he would have pity on me.

"What were you doing at the hospital?" asked Charlie on the way home.

"They made me go. There was a car accident and I bumped my head."

Charlie laughed. "You bump your head and you go to the hospital?"

"I didn't _want_ to go. I told you. they made me."

"Did they ask about anything besides the bump on your head?" he looked angry.

"Yes. I told them I was a klutz."

Charlie was silent for the rest of the way home.

I went to my room after dinner, and I heard my dad on the phone with someone. "Isabella Swan! You get in here right now!" Charlie yelled after dinner. I knew I was in trouble, but I had no idea what excuse he would use this time. I ran into the kitchen.

"What's wrong, Dad?" I asked nervously.

"Do you know an Edward Cullen?"

"He's one of my classmates," I responded. I didn't know where this was going, but it sounded bad.

"He called asking for you. He said he was concerned about you. What did you tell him?" he yelled.

"Nothing!" I said. "Just about my mom, that's all. And I think he's just checking in after the accident" That's weird. I was fine. I wondered what Edward really wanted.

"Your mother." He shook his head, and took a swig from his liquor bottle. "She was a bitch." My eyes started to swell with tears. How could he say that about my mother? She was the only one I ever trusted, and now she was dead. My dad's words stung. "You think she ever cared about you? She just sat around and did nothing. She never cared about you because she was a bitch, and you're just a piece of shit just like her!" My tears fell from my face. I couldn't stand there and listen anymore. I headed toward the stairs, but Charlie grabbed me fiercely. "You listen to me when I'm talking to you!" he shouted in my ear. Then he hit me hard across the face. I fell to the floor, holding my bloody cheek. "Bitch," he said as he walked up to his room.

I shuffled through the bathroom cabinet, shaking, blinded by my tears. Finally I found a fresh razor. I broke off the plastic covering, cutting my fingers recklessly in the process. Freeing the metal blade from its holder, I held it against the skin of my arm. I didn't know what I was doing. I had never done this before. I pushed the blade as hard as I could and cut into my wrist. Before I could get very far, I cringed in pain. I couldn't finish it. I wrapped a towel around my wrist and went to bed.


	3. Chapter 3: Secrets

**Chapter 3: Secrets**

POV: Bella.

_There must be a better way,_ I thought. I wore a long-sleeved shirt to school that covered most of my hands and only left my fingers exposed. I sat down to eat lunch in silence again. Not that I had much of an appetite. I wondered how long it would take to starve myself to death. _Too long_, I thought. I ate some of my sandwich. Edward sat down across from me. "Hi, Bella," he said.

"Hi."

"How are you feeling today?"

"I'm fine," I said.

"What happened?" he asked, looking at the red mark on my face.

"I fell down the stairs," I said. He didn't look like he was convinced. He looked away, as if he was focusing on something, then turned his head back as if he could see right through me, as if he knew all the pain I was feeling at that moment. Then I noticed someone staring at me from another table. A pale-skinned, blond-haired boy. He looked me with an expression of concern. When I saw him he looked away. Sitting next to the boy was small, dark-haired girl, and she was also looking at me. She looked suddenly shocked and worried. She whispered something to the boy. I suspected they were making things up about me. No one knew anything. Not unless Edward told them about my mom dying. Oh, well. I didn't care who knew. As long as they left me alone. I probably wouldn't be here much longer, anyway. I looked back at Edward, who was now looking at me with wide eyes. _What's wrong with these people?_ I thought. _Do I have a sign on my forehead that says "train wreck"?_

"Not hungry?" asked Edward. I had only eaten one bite.

"No," I said. "I had a big breakfast." But Edward hadn't touched his food! "What about you?"

"Yeah, same here. And the cafeteria food isn't all that appetizing to me."

"Why don't you bring food from home?" I asked. Edward laughed a little.

"I have a weird diet," he said. "I think people would stare at me." _People stare at you anyway,_ I wanted to say. I didn't often notice people, but Edward had a mesmerizing presence. There were a lot of things about Edward that didn't make sense. He didn't seem human.

"What are you?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"That day you saved me... you have superhuman powers. I'm sure of it."

"Bella, remember when you said that if I know what's good for me, I'll stay away from you?"

"Yeah?" I hoped he wasn't going to take it too seriously.

"Well, maybe it's really the other way around." Edward stopped - he was distracted. He was looking at my hand. I looked down and saw that while my chin was resting on my hand, my sleeve had fallen down my arm, revealing the cut on my wrist. When I realized he was looking at it, I quickly covered it up again, trying to be inconspicuous. Then I looked back at Edward, but I could see in his eyes that the damage had already been done. "Can I see your hand, Bella?"

I reluctantly held my hand out in front of me. Edward held it it his ice-cold hands and pulled my sleeve down my arm. "Cooking accident," I said nonchalantly. I started to recoil, but Edward kept my arm in his firm grip, inspecting it carefully. I sighed, frustrated. "It's no big deal, really."

"This cut is from a razor, not a knife," he said with a grave expression. How could I escape that accusation? And how did Edward know so much about cuts? It's not like he could have gone to medical school. He looked up at my eyes. "Bella, please tell me the truth. You can trust me." I hesitated.

"Why don't _you_ tell me what's going on with your superpowers," I retorted bitterly. "I have to get to class." I got up and walked away.

"Me too. I'm going to the same class. I'll walk you there," he said, following. I forgot, biology. "I'll tell you why, Bella. Why I don't tell you about me. It's because I'm afraid that if I tell you what I am, you'll run away." I stopped walking and turned to look at Edward, amazed that he had actually given the same answer as I would have given him. Maybe he understood me better than I thought. But why would I run away from _him?_ What could be scarier than my own self? He continued, "and if you run away from me, I'm afraid that no one's going to be there to save you." He looked at me with the most sincere expression. What did he mean _save me?_ Did he know? Tears welled in my eyes as I thought of him knowing how much of a wreck I was and still talking to me and trying to... Save me. What kind of cryptic nonsense was this? I turned away before he could see my tears fall, and brushed ahead of him to class.


	4. Chapter 4: Eighteen

**Chapter 4: Eighteen**

POV: Bella.

I think Charlie was the only one who knew it was my eighteenth birthday today. Not as if anyone would care if I told them. I didn't like birthdays anyway. Better just to pretend it wasn't. And it was pretty easy since no one knew.

In the hall I ran into the pale, dark-haired girl who had been staring at me at lunch. I tried to walk past her – she was inevitably one of the people who would spread gossip and torture me throughout high school if I didn't escape. But she moved into my path. "Hello. I'm Alice Cullen," she said in a friendly voice. "You must be Bella Swan."

"How do you know my name?"

"I overheard it," she said. No doubt. I wondered what else she had overheard. I wasn't giving her any confirmation for whatever rumors she had.

"I have to go. I'm in a hurry," I said. I started to shove past her.

"Bella, don't do anything you'll regret," she said softly as I left. Was that a threat? I decided to make a list of people I was going to avoid, starting with her.

Charlie had taken away my truck after the accident. He said if I couldn't take care of my things, I didn't deserve to have them. I didn't argue with him and say that it was just a dent, and I could still drive it. I usually didn't mind the walk, except now it was too hard to be alone with my own thoughts for so long with nothing to distract me. I thought back to the summer, when I preferred to be alone, rather than being yelled at or beaten by Charlie. I convinced myself that it was better to be alone than to be with Charlie. Now I noticed the pain more because it subsided a bit whenever I was around Edward.

When Charlie came home, I stayed in my room and hoped that he wouldn't come looking for me. Some days it worked, and I was off the hook. But really he was unpredictable. I heard footsteps up to my room and I shuttered. Charlie opened my door. He looked calm enough, but he had a serious expression. "Bella, there's something we need to talk about," he said. Come down to the kitchen now. I didn't know what was coming. Charlie never acted like this. Maybe he was going to apologize or something, unlikely as it seemed. After all, he didn't act mean all the time. He was still my dad, and he still took care of me in a way.

He was sitting at the kitchen table. "Bella, I don't want to pretend to be your father," he said. I was confused. He was my real dad, as far as I knew. "I've been out of your life for 12 years, and then you come and barge in on me when I'm just trying to live my own life. And it's been hard for me. I've been trying to accommodate to you living here, but I can't take it anymore. I don't know how to deal with you. You're not worth my time, Bella. I don't want you to live in my house anymore." I don't know why I was so hurt by this after everything Charlie has said and done to me in the past. Maybe it was that he was saying all these things while sober. "You're just like your mother was," he said. "Not worth the space she took up. Bella, now that you're eighteen, I don't have to keep you anymore. I want you to get out of my house. I don't ever want to see you again," he said sternly. I started crying, realizing what he was saying to me, and that he meant it.

"Dad," I whimpered, "I have no place to go." As much as I hated Charlie, he was the only person I had left.

"That's not my problem," he said. "You think anyone gives a shit about you?" he stood up and raised his voice. "Just go live on the street somewhere. Find a hole in the ground. I don't care. Just stop ruining my life! You don't do anything, Bella, you just mope around and make everyone's lives miserable! You need to go. Leave my house before I kill you. And if I ever see you back here again, I'll kill you."

I was in shock. This wasn't normal for my dad, but I believed him. I knew he would kill me. That didn't seem like such a bad idea, but I could never face him again after what he had said. He was probably right, and that's what stung me the most. I just mope around and make everyone's lives miserable. I didn't take anything with me. I left as fast as I could and started walking. I wouldn't need any of my things where I was going, anyway. I was going to stop ruining people's lives for good.


	5. Chapter 5: No Place to Go

**Chapter 5: No Place to Go**

POV: Bella.

This was it. I could never go home again. No one cared about me and I had no place to go. There was no use dwelling in the pain any longer, I decided. I started walking toward the highway brigde. Charlie was right. No one would care anyway. Everyone in school would be like, "Hey whatever happened to the new kid?" And after a few days they'd forget I ever existed. I wasn't going to cause anyone pain, I was only going to end it. I knew what people say about suicide. They say it hurts not only you, but everyone who cares about you. Well, maybe I'd consider that if there was anyone left to care, but it was just me, alone. Everyone who pretended to give a shit about me was just fooling themselves. They'd all be better off now. I finally reached the bridge after what seemed like an eternity. _This is it,_ I thought to myself.

I thought I wouldn't be scared, but I was. I climbed up onto the bridge wall, and looked down. I had thought it would be easy - that everything was just going to end. But the thought of dying scared me. I didn't want to die. Was there a part of me left that still loved my horrible life? Would I miss being beaten half to death, being ignored at school? Well, almost ignored. I thought of Edward. Why had he been so nice to me? Probably just out of habit - welcoming the new girl, before he finds out she's a suicidal freak. I was just making it easier for him now. He wouldn't have to deal with me. Inevitably when he got to know me he'd just start ignoring me like my other friends had. I was making it better for everyone.

I stood on the stone wall, looking down at the distance below, thinking about how hard I would hit those sharp rocks at the bottom. But it didn't matter. It was nothing compared to the pain that was clutching me, the emptiness and loneliness of knowing that no one could ever love me. My eyes glazed over as I dwelt on the pain of that statement.

I heard a speeding car in the distance. My heart sped up, as I thought about how dark it was and how fast the car was moving. Hopefully the driver would just breeze past and not even notice me. It seemed to speed up as it zoomed toward the bridge. My hope increased. But as soon as the car reached the bridge, it slowed to a screeching halt. I froze, and a wave of adrenaline swept through me. _I'd better jump quick, to get this over with,_ I thought to myself. But my thoughts seemed to have no control on my body, and I still stood motionless on the wall. I tried to think of an alibi, a reason why I'd be standing there, but I then heard the voice.

"Bella!" the soft velvety voice called in desperation. I knew that voice. It was Edward. I didn't turn around. _Jump now, get it over with!_ I told myself sternly. "Don't do it," he said. "Let me convince you that life is worth living." He didn't approach. He just stood there and waited for me to change my mind. Or waited for me to jump so he could stop pretending to care. But I knew he'd be able to stop me anyway, even at his distance. But would he? I stepped forward, dangling my toes off the wall. "Bella!" he said anxiously. The tears fell from my cheeks straight down to the rocks below. I didn't want to. I wanted to hold onto the velvet voice – the only thing that had any hope left in it. I went to turn toward him, but I lost my balance and started to fall. Edward's strong, cold arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back toward him, and I fell back against his chest as he swept me into his arms. I felt a strange sense of safety in his arms at that moment that I had never felt before. It made me feel like I was being taken care of. The feeling overwhelmed me. Edward began to put me down in the same graceful, fluid motion as he had swept me up. I hesitantly looked up into his beautiful eyes. "I was so worried about you!" he said. I was confused.

"Why would you be worried about me?" I asked, trying to hide the quiver in my voice. Then I realized what he meant. He knew. He knew what I was going to do, and he came looking for me. He came to stop me.

"Bella," he said with a tone of exasperation and relief. "I care about you, and I would do anything to keep you alive. But not knowing where you are, and knowing what you were planning to do, of course I was worried." I wasn't used to being looked after this way. The tears flowed out of my eyes. I looked down, covered my face and started sobbing. I started to turn away, but Edward stepped toward me and wrapped his arms around me, holding my crying face against his chest. "It's going to be all right," he said as he stroked my back. It felt safe there. I believed him. Everything was going to be okay.

**Epilogue**

POV: Bella.

"You'll get better," said Edward in the car. "You just need someone to take care of you. It's not your fault - the way you were being treated..." I wasn't crying anymore. I had shed all of the tears left in me onto Edward's damp, salted shirt.

"Charlie kicked me out," I said.

"I know," said Edward. "I was listening to his thoughts when I was trying to find you. I can't believe him, and all of his other vile thoughts," Edward hissed angrily. "But I can't think about that too much. Just know this: even if he hadn't kicked you out, I don't think you would ever need to go back there."

I was a bit confused. "So you can read people's thoughts."

"Everyone's except yours."

I knew I could trust Edward now. It was time to find out his secret. "Edward, tell me what you are. I promise I won't run away from you."

"Okay," he said skeptically. "I'm a vampire."

"Oh, I was almost right!"

Edward looked at me with wide eyes. "You're not shocked? Scared? Bella, what do I eat?"

"Not me," I guessed. Imagining all that Edward had gone through just to get me alone so he could have a snack, it seemed kind of ridiculous. But I wouldn't care. If he wanted me, he could have me.


End file.
